Payday lending bill's prospects dwindling

From staff reports :
May 7, 2013

AUSTIN — It's dangerous to declare a bill dead, but the payday lending/auto title regulation bill is showing signs of poor health.

Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, the House sponsor, tweeted over the weekend that he was looking beyond the current legislative session: “Planning interim. Will travel state to advance payday auto title ordinances one city at a time with Coalition for Fair Lending.”

On Monday, this Villarreal Facebook post conveyed more frustration: “After months of work on payday and auto title lending reform, it's hard to accept that we may not have the votes to move forward with meaningful protections for consumers. Texas has a long history of free markets, but we also have a long history of protecting consumers from usury. Our state's current approach to payday and auto title lending is a break from that honorable tradition. Our most vulnerable citizens pay the price. I'm still working to find a path forward.”

Then Tuesday, Villarreal issued a release with the bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, calling a news conference to “join with consumer advocates in urging the Legislature to pass meaningful payday and auto title lending reform legislation this session.”

Will it be a wake for a dead bill? Or will Carona and Villarreal successfully pressure the House committee to pass the legislation? The answer will determine how Villarreal spends his summer “vacation.”

HemisFair Park bill

A bill to ease redevelopment of HemisFair Park was passed by the Senate on Tuesday.

With one dissenting vote, SB 930, authored by Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio, now goes to the House for approval. There was no discussion.

Sen. Donna Campbell, R-New Braunfels, cast the single “nay” vote — because, said spokesman Jon Oliver, she heard from San Antonians who were disappointed in the way the streetcar issue was handled.

In 2004, city voters opted to create an advanced transportation district to pay for things such as highway improvements and transit services. Through campaign literature, officials promised not to spend the money on toll roads or light rail.

In 2012, however, Bexar County commissioners announced they would be using $92 million in ATD money to pay for their portion of the streetcar project. Equating streetcars and light rail, critics claimed officials had broken their promise.

The issue divided the city, and Sen. John Wentworth, R-San Antonio, requested an opinion from state Attorney General Greg Abbott, who declined to get involved.

The streetcar project is expected to cost $190 million to $200 million. The issue apparently left a bad taste in the mouth of Campbell, a member of the tea party who opposes toll roads.

“She wanted to make sure that we didn't circumvent the process by going to the people first,” Oliver said.

They said it:

“You can hide under your desk if necessary.”

Republican Rep. Dennis Bonnen of Angleton after a warning that members of the House should not be startled by an unrelated, ceremonial 21-gun salute being held on the grounds of the Texas Capitol on Saturday morning.